Efficiency of Inhomogeneous Thermoelectric Generators

We revisit the classical problem of the efficiency of inhomogeneous thermoelectric generators. The effects of different physical parameters on the efficiency of a generator are studied by solving the Domenicali’s equation numerically. It is found that the efficiency of a thermoelectric generator is insensitive to both the electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity. However, the efficiency of a thermoelectric generator can be improved by various designs of the Seebeck coefficient